Kibo, Uktabi PrinceKibo, Uktabi Prince | Art by Filipe Pagliuso

This week, we’re getting down and dirty. Damn dirty. Damn dirty apes, as Charleton Heston would say. This deck is about seriously smashing simulacrums. No monkey business here: we’re building Ape Typal!

Magic has been going Ape since its inception, with Kird ApeKird Ape as a staple of Zoo decks and Uktabi OrangutanUktabi Orangutans famous for…other reasons. Even Gorilla ShamanGorilla Shaman was nicknamed “Mox Monkey” for its penchant for chewing pendants (though it must be said: Gorillas are apes, not monkeys).

But how do we go Ape in Commander? What do Apes do, and why are those things good?

While Apes haven't always had a cohesive identity, and several of those in the deck are there simply to have a number of bodies, there are some through lines. The key to connecting these is the centerpiece of today’s Commander deck, who isn't an Ape at all, but a Monkey: Kibo, Uktabi PrinceKibo, Uktabi Prince.

What Does Kibo, Uktabi PrinceKibo, Uktabi Prince Do?

One of the through lines we can already see from the famous Apes is that both Uktabi OrangutanUktabi Orangutan and Gorilla ShamanGorilla Shaman destroy artifacts. 

The ability that brings the Ape deck together is the middle one: Whenever an opponent’s artifact dies, each of our Apes and Monkeys gets a +1/+1 counter. These counters are the key to making our Apes go super simian, making them big and threatening damage greater than or equal to Gorilla TitanGorilla Titan’s banana.

Speaking of bananas, Kibo gives each player a Banana token that they can sacrifice to add green or red mana and gain two life. These Bananas are artifacts, so, when they die, we get Kibo triggers. We don’t even have to blow them up!

And our commander certainly does love blowing artifacts up. Not only does he give opponents artifacts to blow up, not only does he grow our Apes when they do blow up, he makes whomever he’s attacking sacrifice an artifact on attack!

Key Cards for Kibo, Uktabi PrinceKibo, Uktabi Prince

Artifacts have gotten increasingly powerful as time has gone on, and most decks will have juicy targets, from Voltron Equipment to Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks combos to mana rocks, with or without upside.

Some opponents won’t give us great targets, however, and some great targets won’t be artifacts. That’s where cards like Liquimetal CoatingLiquimetal Coating and Liquimetal TorqueLiquimetal Torque come in, letting us blow up any problem permanent with our Apes.

While growing our Apes with Kibo’s counters is a strong path to victory, Kibo won’t always be out, and the ability might not be enough, either. Cards like Pain DistributorPain Distributor and Magnetic MineMagnetic Mine provide direct damage and make opponents think twice about greedily using the tokens we give them.

As with many of these aggro-esque typal decks, we need card draw. Herald's HornHerald's Horn might not seem like the best example of velocity, but it is a solid cost reducer that can draw a few extra cards over the course of the game and works well with repeatable draw like Guardian ProjectGuardian Project and Lifecrafter's BestiaryLifecrafter's Bestiary because those cards help to churn out cards when we chain creature spells.

Our nonbasic lands help to push through damage with Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage, Kessig Wolf RunKessig Wolf Run, and Skarrg, the Rage PitsSkarrg, the Rage Pits all helping us bash in with our Apes adorned in layers of counters.

Our opponents will be as buried as the Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes.

How Does This Kibo, Uktabi PrinceKibo, Uktabi Prince Commander Deck Win?

Our primary aim is to put Apes on the battlefield while disrupting key permanents, especially artifacts. We have the secondary plan of benefitting off of those artifacts blowing up, giving the deck reach.

Kibo, Uktabi Prince Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Apes are a fun puzzle to figure out, as they don’t have clear synergies or pushed support cards. Quite a lot of them destroy artifacts, however, which is an intriguing way to make Gruul smash surprisingly cerebral.

But how would you build Apes? And do you think we captured their disdain for technology?

Editor's Note: Though many older Magic cards used the terms "ape" and "monkey" interchangeably - and incorrectly (see: Zodiac MonkeyZodiac Monkey (typed as Ape) and Monkey CageMonkey Cage, which originally made Ape tokens) - "ape" and "monkey" are not interchangeable terms. Apes and monkeys are, in fact, different animals. Learn more here.

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